Conflict
by Ourania Aella
Summary: Kayaba Akihiko was an unmatched genius. He dreamed of a floating castle, and a world of fantasy. Now, his dream is a reality, beyond what anyone could have imagined. His creation is limitless, and it is without equal. To challenge his world... one must be willing to give everything. AU Revamped SAO Kirito-Centric
1. Prologue - The Beginning

**Conflict**

byOuraniaAella

**Prologue**** – ****The****Beginning**

* * *

She was breathing in and out nervously. She sat with her laptop on her lap inside the rather large room. This young woman, who seemed like your average twenty year-old, repeatedly looked down at her watch as she counted down the minutes.

Her name was Ayame and she was supposed to be the new voice of the MMO Today Podcast; a podcast listened to weekly by over two million people. To top it off, today was not just her first day, but she'd be doing the podcast live during and after the Argus press conference announcing what could be the biggest MMO in years. _'__And__I__have__to__do__this__live__!'_

Looking at her watch, she realized she had 5 minutes till Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of the Nerve Gear and founder of Argus, would come up to the stage. It was time for her to begin.

Starting the live recording, she took a deep breath and began.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to this week's MMO Today Podcast!" She said in a bubbly voice, watching the chat as she spoke. She saw some questioning comments as to who she was. Better to deal with those quickly. "If you didn't tune in last week, then let me introduce myself, my name is Ayame and I'm the new host of the podcast! Please take care of me from now on and I hope you enjoy today's show."

"As you probably already know, two weeks ago, Argus recently announced their work on what could be the biggest MMO in recent history. Now, I know many of you are skeptical of such a bold claim, but have no fear! I'm here today, live at the press conference to bring you a first hand account of any information released and even maybe ask some of your questions to Kayaba Akihiko, the head of the project himself! Exciting, isn't it?" she finished with a giggle.

Seeing the lights dim in the room, she quickly told her listeners that the conference was beginning.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko, and I am the head of Argus. I wish to thank you all for coming here on such short notice." Everyone was silent and listened with rapt attention, not wanting to miss a word, even if he was speaking in his usual bored monotone.

"To start things off I'd like to show you all a video of Aincrad Online. The first look anyone outside of Argus has had of this new world."

As soon as the video began playing behind the man, the crowd was enraptured. This was without a doubt the most beautiful MMO they had ever seen, but all it seemed to be was a walkthrough of a town. Even the most vivid scenery could not hold their interest for long, and they eventually wondered when the action would shown. Their thoughts were halted when the man himself paused the video.

"Now you all may be wondering what was so special about this when all you have seen was the realistic beauty of a town. The reason I showed you this was because that was a piece of live first account gameplay filmed through the Nerve Gear. Yes you heard me correctly, this is a VRMMORPG, the first of its kind."

There had been previous attempts to create MMOs using the technology of the Nerve Gear, but the results fell short of what the gamers wanted. All over the world, people wanted to see a full blown MMO experience in virtual reality, a true fantasy world they could take part in. And from what they were about to see, they would not be let down.

As Kayaba continued the video, things sped up and began to show various sights around the beautiful world of Aincrad. From the bosses to just average monsters, the entire world was shown in all of its glory and beauty. When the video was approaching its end, it showed a final clip of gameplay. A mage slammed his hands on the ground, summoning a whirlwind that scattered all of the monsters around him away. The camera panned away to reveal Aincrad, the castle in the sky itself, showcasing all of its awe-inspiring beauty.

Needless to say, he had made quite an impression with the press.

Giving everyone a moment to take in what they had just seen, Kayaba watched the reactions of those in the crowd and smirked internally.

"Now, while I don't want to divulge a world of information about the game, I will make a couple announcements." He paused for a moment to let his message sink in.

"The first is that in four months from now, Argus will host a beta event for Aincrad Online. There will be one thousand and five hundred invitations available to the public, please visit the Argus website in the coming weeks to learn how to sign up. Another five hundred invitations will be awarded to select people through various means. Please keep watch for them." The excitement of the crowd picked up noticeably.

"Due to what we believe to be the massive following we will acquire after today, I feel it prudent to inform you all that we will only be releasing fifty thousand copies of Aincrad Online, two thousand of which will be given to those who participated in the beta. While we don't want to cause our fans any inconvenience, we do not believe that we will be able to handle any more players than that during the first release. Please accept our apologies."

"Now, I will be taking a five minute break. When I return, I will take a few questions before leaving. Thank you all for coming today." He ended with a bow.

It was obvious to everyone that heard the man speak that he did not want to be here, nor did he like being in the spotlight. However most of the press did not care at the time. They knew what was going to be the next big thing and the man who created it had just spoken to them. They had just struck gold.

Ayame sat back and prepared to speak to her listeners again, though in a slightly hushed tone so as not to cause any problems with members of the press surrounding her. Wouldn't be good to make enemies on her first day. "So everyone, what do you think? I'm sorry that I couldn't actually show you the video, but just know that it was incredible. I get the feeling that it will be released on our website soon so please watch out for it! So what are your thoughts everyone? Any questions would you like to be asked?"

Ayame was happy with herself. She herself thought she was doing fine so far and knew that asking her listeners what they thought would help them accept her.

Looking through the words of her readers, she found a number of interesting comments and many kind words to her. Obviously excited, she began to copy some of the best questions down as fast as she could before thanking her listeners and sitting back, relaxing as she waiting for Kayaba Akihiko to come back onto the stage.

Among the audience, hundreds upon hundreds of people felt curious as to what this new MMO could offer. What would it become, and if it would truly offer what Kayaba promised; a true VRMMORPG experience? This could be the new generation of games, a new meaning to being the hero of a game. Bloggers were ready to cover the entirety of it, people were going to be waiting for news as it began coming out. What would the Beta Testers say? All of this, so many questions and ideas, it all seemed to come to one question. _'__What __is __Aincrad __Online__?'_

As Kayaba Akihiko took the stage once more, the press were ready to start asking questions.

"We'll now begin with the question portion of the conference. I'm looking forward to the questions you will all ask, but understand that some questions may not be answered at this moment in time. My associates will pick one of you at a time to ask questions."

As everyone waited to be chosen to ask questions, Ayame hoped she would be chosen as well. Well, to her surprise she was chosen first. "Kayaba-san, the fans of MMO Today would like to know, how will you choose players for the beta and if there will be a limit upon information the beta testers can give to the public?" If Kayaba was surprised that she was taking questions directly from fans, he only showed it with a raised eyebrow.

"The players to take part in the beta as mentioned previously would be chosen based upon the methods to be announced on our website, however of the five hundred other invites, we have decided to give them to various organizations and the press to use and give away as prizes. Do not worry, we have made sure that there are various ways to enter the beta. We will also not be limiting information given out by beta testers. I believe information given to the public by the players themselves will only improve the game." Seeing that she was satisfied with his response, and at the rest of the press scribbling away, he motioned for more questions to be asked.

"Kayaba-san, why have you decided to only release fifty thousand copies of the game?"

"Unlike many companies, we aren't here to maximize profits. I wish to provide the best gaming experience I can award to the players themselves."

"Kayaba-san, Will you consider releasing more after the first release?"

"We can't comment on that yet. It is a possibility though and completely possible. It depends on how well the beta and first release go."

"In the video shown, there was a surprising lack of combat. Why is that?"

"Within Aincrad Online, there is an extremely extensive combat system. Suffice to say, there is nothing like it in existence. In fact, the piece at the end was simply a lower end skill that can be learned very early on in the game. I would like to keep the full extent of Aincrad Online's combat system for the player to discover themselves. This was only to be a teaser."

Surprisingly enough, Ayame was chosen again. She just assumed that it was due to being a representative of the biggest MMO website in the world.

"The listeners of the MMO Today Podcast would like to know if you will be releasing information on the combat system prior to the beta as well as other features of Aincrad Online." She asked.

"While I will not say what we will be releasing, rest assured there will be plenty of information available." He said cryptically. Kayaba was making a point not to tell people what the game itself consisted of.

As the questions went on for the next fifteen minutes, Ayame realized that Kayaba hadn't actually given them any information about the game itself, only giving them enough to conjure excitement for it, and assuring people that it was a true VRMMORPG. He was truly a very smart man.

"Thank you all for coming today. I will have to end today's conference. On your way out, you will find folders containing a data chip and some other things. Please be sure to take one on your way out." Kayaba Akihiko ended before walking off stage and disappearing from view.

As Ayame walked out and took one of the folders, she left to a private room she had been given to continue the podcast within the same building.

"Thanks everyone for tuning in! Now that I can turn on the video for the podcast, I'll show you what's in the folder that the press was given. I've already taken a look so sorry that it won't be a first look!" As she began to take out the contents, she put aside the data chip to save it for last. "Most of the room in the folder is actually taken up by some official artwork that I'll be sure to scan for you all once I reach the office. Here, I'll show you them one at a time!"

"As you can see, the world is extremely complex and realistic! I'm getting really excited for the beta myself! The amount of work Argus must have put into the project really is incredible... I actually can't imagine how they did it. Kayaba Akihiko really is a genius, isn't he?" she trailed off. Just as her audience seemed to be, she too was marveled by the incredible jump the game seemed to be taking compared to previous MMORPGs of the past years.

"Now, here comes the juicy stuff! While I can't show you what is inside yet, this book I'm holding now has within it information on the character creation when you start the game. I haven't gotten a good look yet, but I've been told that you can expect it quite soon, so don't worry!" she finished excitedly. Putting everything back in the folder, she showed them the data chip.

"Now here is the most important thing. While this data chip has all kinds of cool information and stuff, who cares? Why am I saying that you ask? That's because it has things that are ten times better! On this chip, are fifty codes for the beta! That's right! MMO Today has fifty whole codes for the Aincrad Online beta! I don't know exactly what's going to happen to these codes and who will get them, since that's up to Thinker and all, but I really want one!" By the end of her commentary she was squealing in excitement, losing any semblance of professional behavior in her excitement. Once she realized what she was doing, she quickly apologized to her listeners as she regained her composure.

"While today's podcast wasn't scripted as it usually is, I hope you enjoyed it. I had fun with you all and hope to see you all again next week! Thank you!" she finished with a wide smile, thinking that she had done well. This was her first day and she succeeded.

She had the right to be proud.

As the next weeks passed, things finally began to calm down a bit but the hype for Aincrad Online did not die out, no, it only intensified and grew stronger. And Argus was doing well as well. They handled all the fans perfectly, releasing just enough information to keep things going. Beautiful shots of player houses were shown as well as a video of a group of testers within Argus fighting a boss. For Argus, things couldn't be going better.

For a couple of gamers though, their adventures were only just beginning. This was the start of their biggest adventure and they could not wait. It showed too! When Argus began the sales of the system Aincrad Online would run on, they couldn't keep up with production. Even with only fifty thousand copies of the game to be released, over 300,000 Nerve Gears had been sold. That didn't include another million standing orders for it. Argus just couldn't keep up.

For one avid gamer, a teenager named Kirigaya Kazuto, things weren't any different. He too was excited. He too was looking forward to it and it showed in his actions. He constantly checked the MMO Today blog, listened to the weekly podcast by the bubbly Ayame, and kept up with any other news source he could find.

He however was only one of many that was excitedly waiting for the next big game, as so many others had in the past decades of gaming.

MMO Today themselves had been overwhelmed and were barely able to keep up with the demand the fans had. Constant questions about the beta keys, the game, and other things were being asked. Things that they couldn't answer. Yet.

Ayame herself became something of an idol among gamers, as she always listened to what they asked and tried to get them the answers they wanted. Not only that, but she spoke to her fans directly and often too, making sure they were all having fun. She was really happy about her success and hoped to make sure not to mess it up.

When Argus finally announced that they would be opening applications for the beta as well as sending out the five hundred other invites, it was only moments before the news spread and they were immediately flooded with applications. People all over the world were applying left and right, hoping to get that code to enter into their nerve gear and play it, to play Aincrad Online.

Aincrad Online would most definitely be a game to look forward to, no matter who you were.

_It __was __time __to __push __fantasy __to __its __limits __in __virtual __reality__._

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Well guys, here's the start of a new Fanfiction, and one that I've put a good bit of work into. Special thanks to ToumaFF for being a beta and everyone in the SAO Fandom Nexus Chat for their general help. There's a lot to come so I hope you enjoy it._


	2. Chapter 1 - A Warrior's Birth

**Conflict**

by Ourania Aella

**Chapter 1 - A Warrior's Birth**

* * *

Kirigaya Kazuto was not your average teenager. He was a very anti-social person that didn't fear others, but rather found himself shunning them without thought or reason. He was never one that could interact properly with those of his own age, something that he seemed have no control over. When he was younger, he had been avidly involved with kendo along with his younger sister. He has also been better at conversing with those his own age. Now, he seemed disillusioned with reality, sometimes not even talking to his own family.

It was not like he didn't care about them, no he loved his younger sister and mother. He just didn't know what to think anymore. When he was younger, he learned the truth about his family; that his sister wasn't really his sister and that his mother wasn't really his mother. His real parents had died years before.

That fact didn't affect him in the way that one would think it would. He still loved his family, it was just that he didn't know how to act around them any more. So, he just did the first thing he thought of and shut himself out.

This past year however, things had been getting progressively worse. He'd been falling deeper than ever before into gaming and his family were beginning to worry. His grades were still at the top of his class, but he didn't even speak to his classmates anymore.

He was lost.

His sister, or rather his cousin, Suguha had become increasingly worried this past month now that he'd become even more distant. All he'd been doing lately was listening, reading or watching something on the internet. He wasn't even playing his games any more.

As he woke up, Kirito stretched and sleepily got out of bed. Eyeing the alarm clock with a lazy expression, he found that he had woken up late once again. The telltale signs of muffled conversation flowed from below, likely Suguha and his mother conversing. They were probably talking about him over their breakfast. Something they had been doing frequently.

He sighed. They were becoming more and more concerned about him. Getting up, he walked over to his computer and checked the MMO Today website for any news. As a long time subscriber, he had access to knowledge before the public did, something he'd always found immensely useful, especially on days like this. Looking back at the screen, he saw that MMO Today had a new post on their public blog. Once he saw the title though, he immediately set everything aside and read it.

"_**Argus Opens Beta Applications for Aincrad Online!**_

_This morning at around 06:00, Argus posted a link on their main website to the sign up forms for the Aincrad Online beta. According to a source within Argus, the sign ups will only be available for one week. A month prior to the beta event itself, all accepted beta testers will be mailed a special data chip for the Nerve Gear to allow them to play Aincrad Online._

_If you would like a chance at playing this game, as well as being assured a copy upon release, you better sign up soon! Time is ticking and plenty of people want to win!_

_On another note, we at MMO Today will be bringing you live coverage of the MMO throughout the beta period and are now also allowed to tell you of any contests that will award a beta invite, including our own. Be sure to watch out for them!_

_- Thinker, Admin of MMO Today"_

Quickly snapping to attention, Kazuto navigated to the Argus website to sign up for the beta. According to the blog post, the beta applications required a lot of personal information, which some would be uncomfortable giving, such as one's address. However, given the fact that one would need to be mailed their copy of the beta version of Aincrad Online, it was understandable.

As he navigated through the forms, he readily filled out his name, address, date of birth, as well as the other necessary information. Once he reached the end of the application, he found there was another step; a survey. _'They're probably trying to weed out people who wouldn't find bugs and get the best possible playerbase to test everything...' _he thought idly.

Finishing up the application, he decided to get ready for another day of relaxation and watching for information about Aincrad Online. He had several feeds set up to give him updates as soon as they came.

As he sat down by his computer, he heard his sister getting ready to head out to her kendo club's daily practice. Even if it was the weekend, it was her daily routine to be there every day to practice and improve.

"I'm off, Onii-chan!" Having called that out so many times recently, it had already become something of a habit for her. It was a bit of a dismal thought. These days, it was more common for her to say 'bye' then for her to actually speak to him.

She sighed at that train of thought. She wished she could just spend time with him like before, but he never seemed interested. When she called him down to eat with the family he was always silent. She knew he cared, after all he would always listen, but spending time with her of his own accord was rare. Sometimes, she wished he would return to Kendo just to spend more time with her. He was surprisingly talented back in the day; he'd probably be winning tournaments everywhere nowadays had he stuck to it.

As she approached the school, she began to see more and more students heading in for their clubs or meets. All of them were chatting animatedly, overall just enjoying themselves with friends.

Once she got to her kendo club's building, she overheard two of her sempai talking. "Did you hear that they're actually hosting a Kendo tournament with a _game_ as a prize? Apparently the game is special, something called Aincrad Online, but it's still a game." At that point she tuned out the conversation. She didn't really care. Gaming was her brother's hobby, not hers. _'Maybe I'll enter and get Onii-chan the game... maybe he'd like it...'_

She spent the rest of her time at club practicing, pushing herself to her utmost limits to try and improve. It was her usual routine and very fulfilling, but it could be pretty dull at times. Doing the same thing day after day can get tiring.

She was the last to leave her club that day and, as such, she had to put away the equipment. A tedious task, but not one that she wasn't used to. While finishing up, she passed by one of her classmates, Nagata Shinichi was his name if she remembered correctly. The boy was talking animatedly to one of his friends about the same game she heard of earlier, Aincrad Online.

She'd decided to get it out of the way now and just interrupt and ask. "Uhm... Nagata-san, why's everyone talking about that game?"

"Ah... Sugu-"

"Kirigaya. Don't call me by my first name." She wasn't friends with him and wanted to make that clear.

"Ah, well there is a lot of talk of a new game coming out soon for the Virtual Reality system called the Nerve Gear. You actually become your character and use swords and magic, you see. It's not something you'd like though, at least I think..." By the end of his explanation, he was mumbling, obviously embarrassed by talking to a girl.

She thanked him and left. It was an interesting premise to be able to experience something like that. She could certainly imagine herself wielding a sword, plowing through any obstacle in her way. Was this how her brother imagined himself when he played games, she wondered. She quickly rid herself of those thoughts and finished putting everything away before heading home. She had to get there in time for dinner or her mother would be angry.

Sprinting home, she arrived just as her mother was still cooking. Taking in a breath of relief, she went to shower and dress in something a bit more comfortable. While her track uniform was nice for practice itself, she was sweaty and so were her clothes. It was kind of disgusting to continue wearing them.

When she finally finished dressing after showering, she heard her mother call them down for dinner. Seeing that her brother didn't answer, she called out to him.

"Onii-chan! Mom's calling us for dinner." She waited a moment for an answer but got nothing. Knocking on his door, she still got no answer. "Onii-chan and his games..." she mumbled out and opened the door.

On his screen was the MMO Today website with a video of a girl showing some pictures of something that looked oddly real for one of his games. Walking up next to him to see, she looked closer and saw that it was something about the game everyone was talking about. Aincrad online. _'Everyone is talking about it... It's even getting to the point people who don't care about games are starting to hear about it. It'll probably be on the news too!'_ It really was getting crazy in her mind. What was so special? It was just a game! Maybe a special one, but still a game!

Pausing the video once Kazuto glimpsed his sister out of the corner of his eyes, he took off his headphones.

"Sugu, what's up? Something wrong?"

"Ah!" She quickly snapped out of her thoughts. "Mom called us down to eat dinner. I'll head down first." As quick as she was surprised, she left, not wanting to look flustered in front of her brother.

As Suguha left his room, Kazuto was worrying about how he would get into the beta. There were a couple tournaments and contests, most of which required one to have some kind of talent. He himself... well the only talent he really had was gaming itself, quickly ascending to be a top player in almost any MMORPG he played. Though, being the top player in an MMO didn't necessarily mean he had any special talent. He knew there would be a kendo tournament for a copy soon but he didn't have enough time to brush up on kendo enough to actually compete. He could ask his sister to enter for him, but he felt it was wrong to do so. He pushed his family away, he didn't have the right to ask them for help.

Even at the table with his family, his thoughts went back to the new post that popped up in the subscriber's section of the MMO Today website.

"_**Beta Invitations and the Aincrad Online Combat System!**_

_After a few days of debating, we've finally decided what to do the beta codes given to us at the conference. This did not come easy as there are many of us within MMO Today that would love to play the game._

_We've decided to give 14 of our employees a beta code and one to use for myself. For the next twenty, we will be giving them away to YOU, yes YOU, our subscribers. Sadly, while we encourage people to subscribe, we've archived those who are subscribed prior to this post and 20 of those people will get a code. If you subscribe after this post, you will not get a chance at winning a code._

_The last 15 codes - well, we've decided to try something new._

_We're looking for 15 people willing to create posts and blog about their adventures within Aincrad Online. To apply, we'll post up an application soon. We're looking for different kinds of people, so good luck if you apply!_

_On another note, Argus has released the first information about their combat system. We are told that there are four classes: the Mage, Warrior, Templar, and Scout. Apparently there is no healing class which seems to be a very daring move on the part of Argus._

_You can find a bit more information on the Argus website or wait for our podcast for an in depth analysis of each class. I promise, it'll be worth your time!_

_Thank you for being a loyal subscriber,_

_- Thinker, Admin of MMO Today"_

This was without a doubt probably his biggest chance. While the applications weren't open yet, he had a good chance to be one of the top candidates as he'd dealt with MMO Today previously, being interviewed by the for a small column they held for some of the top PvPers in a big MMO he had played a year ago. As long as they weren't randomizing their choices, he felt he had a pretty good chance but he wouldn't know for sure until the applications went up.

He sighed, it was no use worrying about it before he could do anything. He had other things he could think about, less stressful and far more positive things.

Argus had released information about their classes and he already knew which one he would pick. He, as usual, would be a warrior; a close combat damage dealer. And in Aincrad Online, it gave him an even better incentive to choose one.

In Aincrad Online, many - including himself - believed that one could evade attacks altogether if you had fast enough reflexes, something he was sure he had. That meant he would be able to effectively solo his way through anything except bosses. Maybe if he was skilled enough... even some of those could possibly be solo'd. No, it would be better not to presume anything, but he could certainly hope.

"Kazuto-kun, what are you thinking about? You haven't even touched your food yet." His mother told him.

"Sorry, just another game. haha..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly before digging into his dinner. This wasn't the first time he'd zoned out and it most certainly wasn't the last.

As Kazuto and his family finished eating, he decided to leave his thoughts to another day and went to bed. It wouldn't due to worry about this the entire day. '_Maybe I'll play a game for a bit first...'_

He really was a dedicated gamer.

As for Suguha, she was deep in thought. _'I wonder what makes Onii-chan want to play games so much? Is it really that much fun? I don't get it...'_

Seeing as her thoughts were on the topic, she turned on her laptop, laid down on her stomach and decided to browse the internet for some information about this new game that had everybody going crazy. _'Aincrad Online...'_

Overall, she found a quite a bit of information as well as a large amount of speculation. Apparently, not a lot of people actually knew much about it yet. Aincrad Online was a recently announced MMORPG for the Nerve Gear. It was the first of its kind in that it employed Virtual Reality to truly give a new and exciting feeling to the game. The game itself was said to have an almost unlimited amount of these things known as skills and allowed the player to do whatever they wanted at any given point in time.

Its combat, the only part she was even remotely interested in, was unknown as of yet, but it focused on four classes. The Templar, which was called the 'Pinnacle of defense'. The Warrior, which was said to be 'The perfect class for those who want excitement and in your face action'. That would likely be her class. The Mage, which was said to be the most flexible class. The last class, the Scout, wasn't revealed yet but said to embody every aspect that you could think it would mean. According to most MMOs, that would mean a ninja like class, at least that's what she thought. Other than that information, everything else was speculation, although Argus had said that there would be several more surprises in store within the 'immense' class and combat system. She was curious as to what they meant by immense. It seemed pretty simple to her.

The rest, such as the guild, crafting, and other systems, she didn't have much interest in. There were, however, a lot of things to do, which meant she probably wouldn't get bored too quickly. Well, she hoped she wouldn't. After all, she didn't actually know much.

After yawning rather loudly, she decided that was enough for the day and went to sleep. School didn't agree with late nights and neither did kendo practice.

Before she fell asleep, she resolved to enter the tournament the next day if only to figure out why her brother liked these games so much. Who knows, maybe she would even be able to have some fun with him again. It had been a very long time since she'd done anything with him.

The next morning, before Suguha got out of the house to head to school, she made sure to submit her entry form for the tournament before leaving. That way, Kazuto wouldn't find out that she was going to try and play a game out of curiosity and she wouldn't be embarrassed in front of him.

Two weeks later, Suguha, along with one of her sempais, were in front of the building that would hold the tournament for the game. While she was somewhat embarrassed she had to tell her sempai about it, she couldn't hide the fact she was entering too. She just hoped they wouldn't face each other or she'd feel bad for beating her. She was the best at kendo among the students in her school. The only person she ever lost to was her brother and even then, that was a long time ago. She had improved greatly since then.

As she walked into the old building, she saw that there were quite a few people participating. All of them seemed to be around her age, within four or five years at most. They had divided the tournament into two brackets, as they had two codes to give away. The first were for those still in school while the second was for adults who had decided to join. It was slightly unfair for the younger people that entered, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Once she got a look at the brackets, she was relieved to find that she wouldn't be fighting her sempai unless they both made it to the finals. It was something she had partially hoped would happen, as she wouldn't have minded the challenge.

As contestants were called up to fight, she paid attention to who was good and who wasn't, looking to see if they might be a challenge. From what she could see, most were absolute beginners just here to try and get the game. A part of her was annoyed - no, completely furious with these people. They all underestimated kendo and the discipline involved in it. A couple of people hadn't even known the rules!

Once her name was called, she quickly took care of the amateur she was matched against and sat back down in the stands.

For a tournament that anyone could enter, it wasn't that bad. Well, as much as she wanted to think that, it was in actuality... quite terrible. She saw a good couple of competitors that were going to be a good challenge but at this rate, out of the 128 people that were in the tournament, only about forty had a formal education in kendo.

Round one was over. 64 people were left. She and her sempai both passed this round. Thankfully, most of the challenging opponents with formal education were on her sempais side of the bracket so she wouldn't have to worry about too many people.

Just as round one came and went, round two did as well, ending with 32 people still in the tournament. Most of the people that shouldn't have entered had been eliminated. Suguha had gone against a boy of decent skill, but she had easily managed take him out. However, her sempai was not as lucky. She had gone up against a 17 year-old boy whose style showed an immense amount of practice and experience.

The rest of the rounds went similarly with Suguha continuing to win, while the boy on the other side did the same until the finals. Though, with the age difference, Suguha was obviously a bit intimidated. He was stronger than her and probably had more experience than her.

As the two walked up to the center of the stage, they put on their equipment and waited for the referee to start the match.

The moment the match began, the boy took advantage of his size and Suguha's intimidated mindset to quickly break through her defence and score a hit on the top of her head.

The first point was awarded to him and there were only two points left for Suguha to get. She couldn't make another mistake. Another mistake would end in a loss. That was something she couldn't afford. _'Onii-chan wouldn't back down and I won't either!'_ Her brother was more than just that. He was her idol and the person she cared about most.

With new resolve, she quickly parried the next swing and then went for a point by hitting the back of her opponent's hand. While he was able to avoid it, she was moving much faster than before and was now using her size to her advantage. Her opponent was not prepared for the sudden change in her style. The aggressive moves she'd been using proved to give her the advantage and she scored a point on the neck.

The boy immediately saw her in a new light. This wasn't going to be as easy a fight as he thought it would be. Of course it wouldn't be. Even in a tournament like this it was still the finals. Surely there would be at least one other talented competitor. He realised that now, and shifted his stance slightly.

It was now one point to one point. Within Kendo, and in a competitive match, there were only three points. The first with two points would win the match. They would get the prize and go home with one of the most sought after things in the world. They could sell it for an absurd sum of money or use it for themselves. It was up to winner, but they would be sure to put it to good use.

With the final point up for grabs, both of them were nervous. The moment they began, both played it defensively. Suguha's eyes widened slightly once she realized a flaw in his form. She'd seen it when he fought her sempai. Whenever he made a downward swing, he'd always bring his hand up too high. While the flaw was there, it wasn't blatantly obvious. It wasn't something someone could easily take advantage of either.

'_Do or die then...'_ she thought.

Quickly making a feint, she made an opening for him to strike and the moment he saw it, he took it. Changing her stance mid swing, she made an uppercut towards his wrist. The moment when his hands came down, she hit his wrist cleanly, seconds before he hit her head.

She quickly looked towards the referee and saw the white flag up in the air and jumped for joy. She did it! She won! It wasn't easy at the end but she came through just like her brother always did. Looking behind her, she saw her sempai run up to her and hug her, all the while congratulating her for winning.

Turning back to the boy, she thanked him for the great match and he in turn did the same with a small smile on his face. This wasn't just a tournament for a game for them. It was a battle, one that she won against the odds. She deserved the win.

As she got her prize and left the building to head home, all she wished was for her brother to have been there watching her. It didn't make it any less of a win, but it was the first competition in which her brother wasn't there to cheer for her. Next time, she decided that she would take him along no matter what. Still, she knew he would be proud of her.

When she finally got home, she hid the chip away and decided not to touch it until a bit closer to the beta.

Later that day, Suguha made sure Kazuto was either in his room or asleep, before going down to talk to her mother. Slowly, she explained what the prize for the tournament was and how she wanted to keep it a secret from Kazuto. The reason for this was for the simple fact that she needed a Nerve Gear in order to play. Those were expensive. Thanks to her beta code she could buy one directly from Argus, but she still wouldn't be able to afford it without her mother's help. Thankfully, they were well off and convincing her mother would be the only problem.

"Don't worry, just make sure not to get sucked in like your brother, all right?"

"Yes! Thank you mom!" She quickly hugged her mother and went up for bed.

As she fell asleep, she couldn't help but smile with how well things were going.

For Kazuto though, things weren't going quite so well. He had been waiting for the MMO Today site to allow people to apply and blog about the game. Every post seemed to hint that it was soon and it was starting to get frustrating.

Finally, the morning that Suguha went out to her Kendo tournament, MMO Today opened their applications and he was, of course, one of the first to fill it out. Apparently the requirements for it were quite strict. You had to have logged over 100 hours on a single MMO, previously been involved with some form of publication, been somewhat known in the game you were playing, and then to finally be interviewed by them after they picked their top choices. And even then, you also had to write a blog post introducing yourself to the readers of MMO Today. It was a long list of things, but it was something he sadly had to do.

Surprisingly enough, he found out that he was chosen to be interviewed.

Waiting, he finally received the web call he'd been waiting for. As he answered and turned on his video camera, he was surprised to see the image of Thinker; the admin of MMO Today. He did not know who would interview him in advance, but he was pleasantly surprised.

"Hello, Thinker-san!" He said slightly nervously.

"Don't be so formal, Kirigaya-kun. Let's just take this interview like your last one." Thinker smiled kindly, trying to calm the boy down. He'd been there when the boy was interviewed last time and always liked him.

"So, Kirigaya-kun, why did you want to join our blogging team?" He asked, after Kirito had relaxed somewhat.

"Well, I wanted to ensure myself a spot in Aincrad Online. If that means helping provide information to the fans, I don't think I'd mind at all. I know I'm not the only one that's going to be playing this game." He really didn't mind it. If someone would ask him for help, he'd probably help them anyway. Although he preferred to help without being the center of attention. It was just the kind of person he was.

"I see. Now, just to make sure, you don't mind working with others, right? I remember you being a solo player." Thinker really did his research. He knew the exactly the questions to ask and how to ask them comfortably.

"Yes. While I don't mind working with others, I do prefer to play solo. It's a more of a challenge. I've played in parties often as well, even led a couple raids too!"

The questions went on as such for another twenty minutes and Kazuto was starting to get a bit nervous. Thinker seemed to have come to a conclusion about five minutes ago and the rest had just been a formality.

"Thank you, Kirigaya-kun. I appreciate the time you've given me here to get to know our fifteenth choice." Thinker suddenly said with a big grin before he started laughing at the look on Kazuto's face. It was the look of utter confusion. "Sorry, we've had you picked out for a while now and have already interviewed all the other candidates. You were always just so serious that I wanted to see your face." By this time, a couple of people came into the webcam's view, including the girl who had interviewed him last time.

"Hey Kazuto-kun! It'll be nice working with you!" she said excitedly. It seemed that these people weren't that bad at all. At least they were gamers just like he was. There would be some common ground to start off on.

He went to sleep that day with a smile on his face, he couldn't help but think that things were going well. The same thought his sister had when she had won her tournament and pass into the beta.

As the beta approached, more and more information was being released. MMO Today constantly released new information about crafting, dungeons, or just pictures of what the game looked like. Kazuto had gotten to know some of the people from MMO Today and had received his copy of the game in the mail.

One month before the beta, all the beta testers had received their data chips in the mail and were ready to go.

Finally, one week before the release, MMO Today posted what would be their last Aincrad Online related post till the beta began.

"_**Aincrad Online**_

_One week from today will be when the gates open, and we take our first steps into Aincrad, the Castle in the Sky. As we have said before, we will sure to cover the beta every step of the way. Before then, we will bring you one last description of Aincrad Online._

_Aincrad, the Castle in the Sky. A flourishing world full of endless things to do and limitless places to be, full of fantastic environments that will amaze you day after day. With each boss killed, a new challenge rises up. With each floor conquered, a new world opens up. With each task completed, new possibilities await you. Each craft, each kill, all culminating into one final fight for the fate Aincrad itself. One hundred floors cleared and conquered, that's our goal. Your goal, as the heroes of Aincrad._

_Are you all excited? We are. _

_We look forward to playing with all of you,_

_- The MMO Today Aincrad Online Team"_

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Well guys, here's chapter 1 of Conflict. Thanks to Whiz and Touma for being amazing betas and helping me out with this._

_So, things are starting to get going. Next chapter will be very exciting and a bit longer too. Hope you continue reading, some big changes are on the way._

_I'll be starting the next chapter this week and will probably stick to updating regularily. Expect something to happen with my other fic, Lionheart, as well. Once I get my hand on my old notes this week._


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